I'm just wondering what all contributes to the EFC on your SAR? I always thought it went off how much money you personally made. I only worked for three months last year, making my 2008 personal income of about $800. Originally my EFC said I had a score of like, 1300. But the financial aid office at my school made corrections to my SAR (although I don't see a difference in the info they "corrected") but somehow my EFC jumped to 2639.
My questions are:
1) What all goes into the EFC # in your SAR?
2) With my personal income for 2008 being $800, is a score of 2639 correct?
3) How much financial aid will I get with a EFC score of 2639?
Thank you! Sorry! I forgot to add:
-I'm dependant.
-Together, my parents made about $41,000 for their 2008 inome. But $37,000 came from my Mom, while the rest was from my father's social security income.
-I'm classified as a sophomore, but it will be my third year.
-I'm attempting my first BA.
Your answer, NotAnyone really helps clear a lot of this up. I think I understand everything better now. Thank you! Kiasami:
Your question didn't indicate much about your personal circumstances, other than your income, so it's hard for me to guess exactly what's going on in your situation.
However -
If you're not at least 24, or married, or supporting dependents of your own, or an orphan, or a graduate student, or a military veteran, or a homeless person - you are considered a dependent student for federal financial aid purposes. You need to understand that your dependency is not determined by whether or not anyone gives you money, or whether anyone claims you as a income tax dependent. Dependency is not about whether someone helps you out - or whether you have a job - or who you live with - it's only about whether you're one of those things I mentioned above.
If you are a dependent student - like it or not - your EFC score is based on your parents' income and assets, as well as your own. You don't get to decide if you consider yourself a dependent - and you don't get to tell the school "My parents aren't helping me with money for school" - that determination is made for you, based on your answers to Question 48 through 60 on the FAFSA application.
Like I said - this may all be elementary - you didn't indicate anything about your personal circumstances in your question. Perhaps you are 24 or you're an orphan, or whatever.
What goes into your EFC score? The information you provided on your FAFSA. The main contributors are your income, your assets and - if it applies - your parents' income and assets, too.
Since you've completed the FAFSA, you know it's over 100 questions - and all of the info helps determine your EFC score. If anyone here could predict your EFC from knowing that you made $800 last year, they could shorten the FAFSA to "What is your name, and how much did you make last year?"
A score of 2639 indicates that you have demonstrated "exceptional need" - that's a category that only 1 out of ever 3 applicants falls into. All applicants who demonstrate "exceptional need" qualify for special forms of federal student aid known as "need-based aid". Only the students with "exceptional need" are eligible for those programs.
The need-based aid programs include the Pell, the FSEOG, the ACG and the SMART grants, as well as the Federal Work Study program, and two special lending programs, the subsidized Stafford and the Perkins Loan.
Unfortunately, only the Pell Grant is guaranteed - the other forms of need-based aid are smaller, supplementary aid programs that only some students are offered. To be honest, only those students who complete their aid applications prior to their school's "priority aid deadline" are likely to be considered for any of the supplementary need-based programs. That's the importance of that deadline.
With an EFC of 2639, you will be offered a Pell Grant of $2700 for the 2009-2010 school year - assuming that you register as a full-time student. Half of that money will be sent to your school for your benefit in the fall, the other half will be sent in the spring. Your school will apply those funds directly to what you owe for tuition and school fees.
You are also certain of being offered a Stafford loan - it's possible that part of the loan will be subsidized. As a first year financial aid dependent, the maximum Stafford loan available to you is $5500. In subsequent years, that maximum will go up - $6500 for sophomores, and $7500 in your third and fourth years.
Other than those two guaranteed funds - there are no other forms of financial aid that you are guaranteed to receive. That doesn't mean that you won't receive any more - it just means that your school will allocate other funds to you if there is any other money available. That's what the financial aid office figures out - and they'll tell you what's available in an "aid offer letter" that you'll receive a few weeks after the school receives your financial aid application.
I hope that helps you a little bit with your understanding - good luck to you. The acronym EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution and is consists of several factors created from a methodology which includes your assets, disaposable income and the assets of your parents if you are considered "dependent" on the FAFSA form......
Your school's FAO(financial aid office) probably did a recalculation based on additional or more current/accurate information......
If you made $50,000.00 in 2008 and didn't save or invest a dime...........your EFC would not be effected, EFC's are primarily based on assets |
